Map the Souls
by cher.ri.kess
Summary: AU:she's a daughter of eden, he's a college student. she's a decendant of a powerful deity, he's a fragile human. they meet in the middle of fireworks and an explosion of confusion, curiosity and clumsiness explodes between them.
1. first glimpse

**A/N:** So, I'm excited for FFXIII-2 for the sheer fact that I get to see older Hope. Mm, he grew up _so nicely. _Light's going to have a hard time accepting that. Hahaha… Ahem, so anyway, this is my first shot at a cute, fluffy yet semi-serious, FFXIII fic - actually it's my first FF fic ever. I'm more of a Resident Evil and Silent Hill fan than anything else though my favorites section says otherwise.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, I hope you enjoy this little wittle fic of mine. :]

**Disclaimer:** I do not own. Square does, duh.

Oh, you'll be coming across these babies; **heterochromatic **– having two different colored eyes. **Thousands, spiders, and palms – **they're all different shapes that fireworks take. Also, 'thousands' is another name for multi-break shells. Those are my favorite fireworks! :D

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><p><em>"I remember my first glimpse - of a face,<em>  
><em>I saw you smile - then I smiled,<em>  
><em>I was straight blown away..." - Epik High<em>

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><p><strong>I - First Glimpse -<strong>

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><p>"…Estheim, <em>Estheim<em>!"

Hope groaned, muttering a few obscenities under his breath, and shifted in his seat. There was a collective jumble of noises, chuckles and mutters of disapproval, but Hope only registered them as annoying attempts to disturb his sleep. He groaned again and lifted his head as he tried desperately to blink the sleep out of his eyes. A hard smack at the back of his head made stars pop in front of his vision and he yelped, his hand immediately going to nurse the throbbing area.

"Sleep in my class again and I'll kick yer ass, kid. I don't care if you're the son of the new Primarch, no special treatment here." The teacher folded his arms, fixing Hope with a glare that threatened to set him on fire. Hope sighed, muttered an apology, and leaned back in his seat. The teacher rolled his eyes and went back to the front of the room, resuming his lesson. Hope sighed once more and dropped his head to the desk; the students on either side of him chuckled.

"I know you're an A-student in this class, hell _every _class," A voice whispered to his left, Hope registered it as his friend Maqui. "But damn, at least _try _to stay awake."

"I can't," Hope paused, a yawn escaping his lips, and stretched. "I barely got any sleep last night, I got off at one." He yawned again and dropped his head to the desk, groaning. "It's been like this for the past five days."

The student to his right spoke before Maqui could. "Why don't you just get money from your dad?" He asked with a blue eyebrow quirked in question. "I bet he's loaded with tons of gil."

"Yuj, you should know why, asking my dad for gil will make it seem like I can't live on my own," Hope leaned forward and rested his chin in his left palm. "And he'll just say, 'I'll pay for your housing expenses as long as you go to University here in Eden' and I do _not _want to live there so the media can just follow me around everywhere I go."

Yuj's 'hmm' of acknowledgement was cut off mid-way by the bell. The three stood up, gathering their belongings as they did, as the teacher spoke loudly over the rising voices of students. "Drop off last night's assignment on your way out and remember, your blueprints are due tomorrow! I don't care if Eden's celebration goes on 'til the morn'; get yer asses and those blueprints to my class."

Hope rolled his eyes as he strolled up to the teacher's desk and dropped the assignment off. "Geeze Rygdea, another personal stab? You know I'll be here."

"Yeah whatever, and that's _Mister _Rygdea to ya." The man glared playfully and waved him off. "Now get out of the way, yer holdin' up my line."

Hope chuckled and waited for Maqui and Yuj at the door. They left the room and Maqui nudged Hope to get his attention. "Are you going? I mean, it'd be cool to support your pops."

"I didn't tell you?" Hope asked, his eyebrows rose with disbelief when Yuj and Maqui shook their heads in respond. "Oh, sorry about that, but I'll be on the float with him."

"What, _what_?" The two exclaimed, disbelief mixed with excitement dripping off their tones.

"_Dude_, do you know what that _means_?" Maqui exclaimed as he clapped his hands down on Hope's shoulders. Hope stared at him as though he had a thousand heads. "It _means _you'll be surrounded by the Daughters of Eden!"

"Daughters of Eden?" Hope repeated, the terms sounded so familiar but an image refused to surface. "Who are they again?" Hope asked, feeling left out that he couldn't share the level of excitement that Maqui and Yuj shared. The two males shared a glance at each other before their looks of disbelief turned to Hope.

"You really need to start paying attention to the news," Yuj said, shaking his head with the lingering look of disbelief on his features. He held up his hand and wiggled the fingers in front of Hope's face, making the platinum blond roll his eyes. "The five Daughters of Eden are," He held up one finger. "I wish I had the issue with me! By anyway, they're equally_ t__he_ number one most beautiful women in _all _of Cocoon!"

Maqui rolled eyes and nudged Yuj away with his elbow. "That's true, but no one knows what their real purpose is. Some people say they've been blessed by the fal'Cie, others say they're a completely different species that's gone extinct but since there aren't males to help their species expand they're under the protection of the Sanctum." Maqui folded his arms and added a moment later, "I say the species thing is way more believable but being blessed by the fal'Cie gives them a purpose to be so guarded by the Sanctum and why they're constantly surrounding the Primarch."

Hope felt his eyebrows disappear under his bangs and he suddenly exploded with laughter as he started down the hall, Yuj and Maqui following closely. "Oh _man,_" He choked out. "I knew it was weird of my dad to say that!"

The men beside him glanced at each other before they voiced their curiosity in unison. "Say what?"

"That he had to have died because he was surrounded by angels." Hope grinned when their eyes widened briefly before their growing chuckles turned into laughter.

"Your dad's a cheese ball." Maqui teased. Hope shrugged, nodding his head in agreement. "I know, I told him he was." But there was a slight, downward tug at his lips and he slowly fell out the new conversation as they left campus.

_That was our last conversation, _The thought made Hope's frown deepen. _And that was weeks ago._

* * *

><p>"Why does this place have to be so <em>high<em>?" Hope whimpered as he stepped away from the window. The view of Eden was amazing, that much he could admit, but the distance from ground to the Primarch's office was less than appealing. "Don't you ever get queasy being so high up?" He asked, turning to the man in the chair.

It had only been a few weeks since Bartholomew Estheim had been made Primarch, the previous having died of old age a month prior to the promotion, and Hope still had not gotten used to his father's new… uniform. The regal attire looked fantastic - a perfect fit - on the man but that was the opinion of others. Hope, on the other hand, thought that his father outside of the normal business suit and inside the white and gold robes of the Primarch, looked absolutely _silly_.

_At least his robes aren't as over the top as the previous Primarch's robes, _Hope almost laughed at the image of his father in a head dress. _I would've _never _let him live that one down._

"You get used to it," The middle-aged man shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I didn't know you were _still _afraid of heights, son."

Hope rolled his eyes and kicked his foot at imaginary dirt. "Let's not touch _that _subject, dad." He muttered as a dark blush began to tint his cheeks. Thankfully, before his dad could further tease him, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Bartholomew called. Not a second later and the door opened, a PSICOM officer strolling in. The officer bowed before he straightened up and nodded his hello to Hope. "Your eminence, wardrobe is ready. The Daughters are already waiting in the Hall." He informed. The mention of the Daughters reminded Hope of his conversation with Maqui and Yuj and he waited for the PSICOM officer to be dismissed before his attention turned to his father.

"Dad, who are the Daughters of Eden?" Hope asked as he folded his arms, a single, platinum brow rose. "Maqui and Yuj told me about them but it was all what the media and the people think they are."

"Those speculations are somewhat true though," Bartholomew answered as he rubbed his chin absently. "Those girls are Cocoon born, their real names are only known to them. They're human though – but I think to an extent–"

"What do you mean by that?" Hope interjected, ignoring the slight glare his father sent him for the interruption.

"They can use magic without the use of manadrives, that's where the speculation of them being blessed by fal'Cie came from, but according to one of the legends, they were each born with a different part of Etro's power. I think those parts are called; the sight, the mind, the body, the spirit and the voice. I've yet to see anything, though." Bartholomew sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't see why they're here, they're normal girls and I'm trying to get them to have normal lives because they've been holed up in this place since the Sanctum discovered their powers… I'm guessing that's been since they were mere children."

"That's horrible," Hope muttered. "Their parents had no say in anything?"

"Apparently not." Bartholomew answered with a shake of his head.

Another knock at the door and before an acceptance to enter was spoken; the door had flown open to reveal a woman with long caramel blonde hair and emerald eyes, her glasses making them glitter in the glare of the sun. "Your eminence," She bit out, her voice struggling to keep her annoyance hidden. "Please hurry, we're behind schedule as it is."

Bartholomew sighed and headed over to the woman, motioning for Hope to follow as he did. "My apologies Miss Nabaat, I lost track of time. It's not everyday I get to have a nice conversation with my son."

Nabaat 'hmm' in acknowledgement, her eyes flickered to Hope briefly before she turned, her obnoxiously long hair whipped out behind her, and left the room with them following behind. Hope rolled his eyes behind her back, his impression on the woman wavered between annoying and impatient and… well, just plain annoying.

* * *

><p>Hope backed up against the crystal throne his father sat on as he swallowed a large lump in his throat. He knew he had to ride a float alongside his father and five women who were said to be the 'most beautiful women in all of Cocoon' but he had not expected <em>this<em>; a float nearly _hundreds_ of feet tall that was not decorated innocently enough to distract him from the fact that they'd be flying _thousands _of feet above Eden. Of course, in reality, the float was only forty feet tall and it was on the Grand Prix road which was only a few hundred feet from the ground. Okay, maybe it _was_ a thousand or two but Hope wasn't prepared for that kind of reassurance. Then there was the problem that not only Eden, but all of Cocoon, would officially know that he was the son of the Primarch.

He obviously didn't think through the offer to ride a float.

_And their first image of me is in weird white and gold robe things draping over my shoulders – at least mom doesn't have to endure this kind of embarrassment. _The thought made him frown as he realized she didn't have much of a choice to attend or not. _I wish you were here, giving me reassurances like always._

"Hope, let's not frown when the parade actually starts, yes?" Bartholomew said with a sad smile that gave away his thoughts; they mirrored his son's. Hope nodded and tried in vain to wipe his face clean of pessimism, getting as far as a lopsided smile was.

"Siren, Phoenix, Ultima, to the left," Nabaat directed, her voice grabbing Hope's attention. "Lightning and Shiva, you two are to stand next to the Primarch's son."

Before Hope could look over at the two women that would be on his right, the float began to rumble and the sound of rushing wind drowned out all thoughts and voices. The float gave a sudden jerk, and without warning, Hope _almost _fell to the floor – his fall had been stopped by a strong grip around his forearm. Hope's gaze travel up the gloved hand and was soon captivated by a pair of sapphires that contrasted a peach flushed face framed with wispy, strawberry blonde hair. A pink eyebrow rose and the grip around Hope's arm disappeared.

"Be careful." The woman said tersely before her attention turned away from him. Hope snapped out of his trance and stuttered out an apology and a thank you all at once. The woman looked back at him – her perfect eyebrow arched once more, and she nodded her head as a silent 'your welcome' while the woman beside her giggled. Hope felt his cheeks burn and immediately snapped his head forward.

_Real smooth Estheim, real smooth._ Hope let out a barely audible sigh and shut his eyes tightly, hoping he could redo his first impression on the women.

"You'll get better," He heard his father's teasing tone to his left and he was just about to glare before the sudden flash of sunlight hit him. He immediately brought up an arm to shield his eyes until they adjusted to the light properly. Muffled cheers, explosions and music fluttered to his ears as the float pushed forward towards the Grand Prix, the sounds becoming clearer as they neared.

"All this, for me," Bartholomew muttered breathlessly.

Hope looked over to his father and caught the ghost of a genuine smile on the middle-aged man's lips. Hope nodded, smiling sincerely, and clapped a hand onto the man's shoulder. "That's right, and I'm pretty sure they'll give you one for every birthday you have, like they did with the previous Primarch." He said with a chuckle.

"I don't know if I should be grateful or terrified that I'll be reminded of my birthday every time it comes." Bartholomew said, his and Hope's chuckles rising to laughter as their smiles grew wider.

The translucent, clear road and smooth, metallic stands that were flooded with people slowly came into view. There were multiple floats in front of their own but Hope hardly gave them much notice when something tiny caught his attention. They fluttered in the air alongside white petals and their surface bounced light at him at certain angles. Hope raised his hand as one of them fluttered by him and with a timed reaction; he caught one in his hand, the softness of it surprising him. He held the petal-like object up at eye level and stared in amazement as it glittered like a diamond, colorful prisms dancing along his fingers. In his peripherals, and through the soft translucent petal, a single burst of colorful light exploded with a bang and was closely followed by a rally of colorful explosions in varied forms of thousands, spiders and palms.

There was a collection of gasps and he looked over to the sound, noticing the three women on his father's left for the first time. Despite the shared hairstyle of an updo, each had their own length and shades of brown hair and their eyes were completely different from the other – one even had heterochromatic eyes. They also shared the same shocked visage, clearly a reaction to the fireworks display, it was as though they had never seen one before. Hope looked over to the strawberry blonde women to his right and their expressions, save the very discreet one of the woman who broke his fall, mirrored the others.

Bartholomew's voice fluttered into his thoughts as Hope remembered their earlier conversation about the women. _Then it would make sense why they're so… so awestruck. _Hope thought as he absentmindedly stared at the woman closest to him, taking in every one of her soft features. She was the tallest of the five, merely four or five inches shorter than him, and had a figure that was more muscular than feminine. Of course, that didn't take away from her soft curves which were hinted at by the way the short white dress hugged her. He noticed that she and her sister, and possibly the other women, adorned the same dress, save for a few differences that he couldn't pin-point in just a glance.

Sapphire eyes turned to gaze at his emerald ones and his cheeks burned in embarassment at being caught. She gave no reaction to his stare, despite the strange ghost of a smirk at her lips, and merely tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked suddenly, her voice wispy but lined with confidence and deepened by a natural edgy spunk.

_She noticed! "_Ah - what - I - no!" Hope blurted out suddenly.

"No?" The woman feigned hurt, her slight smirk giving her away but Hope didn't notice. The young man had been to busy trying to apologize.

A louder than normal explosion of fireworks went off above him and he was saved from his sudden embarassment when the woman snapped her head forward, an odd look of annoyance and caution crossing her features. Hope was left with a rapid heartbeat and an odd feeling of danger that fluttered around the pit of his stomach.

He wasn't sure why.

Another bang of fireworks and Hope's attention traveled upward as the remnants of a thousands firework rained down slowly, the colorful lights flickered in and out of focus around him, and bounced rainbows off the diamond-like petals, right before they disappeared completely at his feet. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as more bangs and pops of the light show exploded around him, the music's thrum muffled along with the crowd and voice of the spokesman whom he never gave attention to since the parade started.

Then, in the time frame of a single minute, the entire world came spiraling down upon Hope and he was more or less unprepared for the events that unfolded in that single minute. He could only register that the world had been swept away from beneath him, the cheers turned to screams of horror and the explosions of fireworks that no longer excited him. He could hear his father's voice among the collection of others before they were suddenly gone from earshot.

_What's going on?_

The blue sky above him still exploded with bright, colorful lights and he could feel the diamond-like petals that grazed his cheeks and the tips of his fingers.

But they no longer brought a smile to his lips.

They blurred with his vision, melted into watery blobs of colors before becoming obscured by thick trails of red. The red broke off into various sizes of dots as they traveled upward and away from him. He was vaguely aware of an unbearable sting that engulfed the right side of his body before his sense of touch caught the tips of something warm and soft brushing across forehead.

_Mom?_

"Hope, it's okay, you're safe now." Wispy... Confident... Edgy... But, _who_?

_You're not mom… Why…? Who...?_

Then there was darkness - warm, blissful and inviting as he spiralled down into its welcoming arms.


	2. panic

**A/N:** You don't know how surprised I was when I opened my inbox and found so many notifications! I'm just… Wow. Thank you! It definitely wasn't what I expected! And thank you to those of you who reviewed and for you silent readers, your favorites make me smile. :]

On another note, I know I've said that this is supposed to be more pairing-centric and fluffy and not very serious, but my friend blatantly pointed out that the way chapter one ended completely contradicted that. So he encouraged me to develop a little plot guide and I must say… I like the direction this'll be taking. Don't worry though, there will still be cute fluffy moments, albeit a bit on the pseudo side.

Anyway, I hope you all had a great holiday and will enjoy this chapter (which was so long it's been cut into about three parts) as much as I enjoyed writing it. :]

**Disclaimer:** I do believe it hasn't changed since chapter one; I don't own – Square does!

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><p><em>"Fear and panic in the air<em>  
><em>I want to be free<em>  
><em>From desolation and despair..." - Muse<em>

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><p><strong>II - Panic -<strong>

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><p>Hope's eyes fluttered open to see the pink hued sky above him, the setting sun casting rosy glares at him through those innocent, diamond-like petals. He felt one brush against his cheek and he sighed at it's softness, a contrast to the hard metal beneath him. He blinked his heavy eyes, biting back a groan as reality crept up on him, making every sting in his being apparent. His body screamed from aches and pains that he could not fully discern and he was well aware of the flames that engulfed his throat.<p>

"He's awake," The voice reached him before its face came into view, long chocolate hair tickling Hope's cheeks. "Can you hear me?"

Hope nodded meekly, too disoriented to form a coherent response. The woman's red wine eyes softened and he felt her fingers brush across his forehead briefly, the gesture comforting, but then her expression scrunched up with worry and confusion. Hope blinked his eyes a few times, a failed attempt to focus his vision, and continued to stare up at her blankly.

"I can't heal… but how…?" She whispered to herself. Her eyes left his and a head of pink suddenly took place on his other side. Hope's attention shifted onto familiar cerulean eyes and he tried to smile but his muscles refused, staying tightly locked in place. It was like his nerves were shot dead, like the messages that formed in his brain to direct them, chiseled away before they could even leave.

The pink haired woman lifted his head onto her lap and he bite back a whimper at the pain that suddenly shot through him. She spoke, saying something about 'power' and 'energy', but he couldn't understand her words that were spoken with sadness. Her voice did not hold that familiar edge - or confidence - a part of him wanted so desperately to hear. Or maybe he just knew she wasn't _her, _the woman with the strange yet soothing voice.

Hope tried to move, to get off this woman and try to find his father - or the woman's sister, but his efforts only managed to make his fingers twitch. The tiny motion sent all types of coherent thought out the window when he felt a shockwave of pain shoot up his arms. The things around him flickered in and out of focus and blobs of colors fought against the darkness that had slowly crept across his vision.

"We have to…hospital…lightning and…get back…"

_What?_

"Where's….baat…rosch….the prim…ok?"

_What are you saying? I don't…I don't…under…stand…_

Hope's eyes fluttered closed without his consent and he whimpered as the aches and pains became more prominent the longer he willed himself to stay awake. Eventually, he breathed out evenly, ready to fall victim to the darkness that promised a blissful sleep – just like before. A light pressure pressed against his chest –_ were they hands? – _and he heard a collection of soft voices from a distance. They were muffled, but he heard how frantic and afraid they sounded. He wanted to say sorry for making them worry over him, but his lips could not form the correct words. The voices faded away, along with the pressure on his chest, and his head finally sank beneath the abyss.

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><p><em>Hope.<em>

Warm fingers pressed against his forehead and swiped away his bangs. Hope cracked open an eye, then the other. Nothing but a grey sky faded into focus, blinding him for the few moments that his eyes were not adjusted. He sat up, his fingers slipping into damp sand, and swept his gaze across a black and white landscape. It was a desolate beach, onyx sand, white crystals that jutted out of its surface at odd angles, and air that tasted of something pure and nothing like the salty sea air of Bodhum. If there were more to the mysteriously bland beach other than the dimly glittering crystals, then Hope could not see it through the heavy fog that circled him.

_Where am I?_

_"Valhalla… land of the dead."_

Hope's head snapped over to where he suspected the voice had originated from, but only came face to face with the stark white fog.

_I'm dead?_

_"No, at least not yet. I'm trying to help but,"_ The voice clicked its tongue in slight annoyance and Hope tried to dig through his mind to find a face to place that familiar voice. "_But the choice to return is ultimately up to you."_

Hope closed his eyes, quiet as he listened to the delicate sound of harmless waves. He tried to picture it, the voice's face, but only brought about a blurry mess of colors. With a sigh, he opened his pale green eyes and stared ahead, his vision barely making out the mystified form of clear-white, luminous water as it scampered over black sand, abandoning sharp lumps of crystal at its edge as it pulled back to sea. Strange, very strange – like something out a fantasy – yet it was still beautiful and captivating even with its odd white-on-black appearance.

Hope tore his gaze from the distant shore, raised it the grey heavens and whispered, "What exactly happened to me?"

There was a moment of silence before the disembodied voice answered. _"Long story short; o__ne of the floats had a freak accident and you were unfortunate enough to get in the way of flying debris."_

At its words, a pale hand went to rest against his side, and a dull ache throbbed beneath his fingers. A flurry of discolored and blurred scenes played in his mind, making no sort of sense as it failed to remind him of something. He released a ragged breath and his brows furrowed in concentration. His mind reeled to find something – _anything, please_ – in its empty halls, but he only came across the silent echoes of what was once there. The emptiness frightened him, choked him until he gasped, and he secured his arms around his torso in an attempt to keep himself together. He felt as if at any moment, he would fall a apart or that his spirit would slip out his very bones and leave him empty, just like his memories had, and he'd be nothing more than an echo of his former self.

_"Go home, Hope, you're worrying everyone the longer you stay here."_

_Everyone, _Hope tried to search for the memory of 'everyone' but just like he thought, nothing surfaced.

"Who is everyone? Are you worried too?" He blurted out, genuinely curious at its answer. He slowly dropped his arms from around his body and twirled his fingers in the cold, damp sand, the delicate grains too soft against his callus digits. "If the decision is up to me, why can't I stay? For all I know, I could be dreaming." He knew his words had been right, but when they had left his lips he felt very, very wrong – and his head inclined from the weight of his guilt.

The disembodied voice did not respond and he wondered if it had given up on him, left him alone in the strangely barren beach. He wondered if it would have minded staying there with him, just filling his empty mind with its strange voice, and the more he pondered the more he became aware of the fear that began to wash over him; it left him drenched in cold gloom.

"Hope."

The closeness of the voice startled Hope and his attention snapped over to lock with a pair of fierce sapphires. "Lightning," The name rolled off his tongue easily as though he had known it was her the entire time. Deep down, a part of him knew it was her all along, but the part that had been busy with his empty mind refused to register such recognition. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get you home, but," Her fierce gaze hardened and she looked away to stare out at the white-on-black beach. "For the first time, I'm not succeeding."

"What do you mean, 'for the first time'? Who are you, _really_?" He inquired, his head tilted ever so slightly. His eyes remained fixated on her perfect profile; the high curve of her cheekbone, the pout of her pale lips. _Beautiful and perfect in every way_, he thought. _Like a Goddess… Is that what you are?_

An annoyed sound rumbled from deep within Lightning's chest and she glanced at him briefly, her eyes narrowed in annoyance but lips twitched upward in amusement. He looked away almost immediately, cheeks stained red.

"Are you always this persistent and annoying with your inquiries?" It didn't sound like a question, no matter how much she intended it to.

"Depends," Hope began; he knew his answer would frustrate the irritable woman. "If you keep answering my questions with more questions."

Lightning clicked her tongue against her teeth sharply before her lips pursed into a fine line. For the silent moment they shared, Hope feared for his life and he couldn't help but think that the slight glint in Lightning's eyes hinted that she was plotting something against him, or simply enjoying his discomfort. _Definitely not a Goddess_.

"The kid has wit." Lightning drawled out finally, her arms folded. "How about this,"

Hope's eyebrows rose in unison with her index finger and he speculated what she could possibly want to negotiate with him.

"You can't remember a thing, no?"

He shook his head, swallowed a lump, and distantly wondered if his empty mind was her doing.

"So, in exchange for you memories and those answers, you have to come back."

There was no way he could say no. It was a fair trade and he wanted nothing more than to rid his mind of empty echoes but then there was a deep knot that twisted his stomach with fear – fear of the mysterious woman beside him. Her sapphire eyes bore into his emerald ones and the longer their gazes stayed connected, the more her expression seemed to harden. Suddenly, she leaned over and rested her cheek against his.

Hope stopped breathing. His heart stopped beating.

Quietly, she whispered into his ear, "Return to me, Estheim."

Hope's arms snapped around him once again but he could not lock in his soul that time. Her voice unhinged his mind and all control over his body was gone as he was forced to oblige to her demand. It was as though her words had rendered him a marionette and he could only watch from afar. The opal and onyx landscape shattered, the sound of breaking glass stung his ears, and it dissolved into salt and pepper dust. The particles swirled around him in ribbons before it was sucked into a void behind Lightning. She gave no notice to the pressure of gravity behind her and his warnings caught in his throat when he felt gravity's hands pull him towards the abyss. He fought against the invisible hands and reached for Lightning as he was pulled away from her.

But his fingers only grazed strawberry tendrils.

* * *

><p>Hope groaned as he shifted and stretched in every which way he could, dormant bones creaked and popped to life. He sighed and slowly opened his eyes to the brightly lit, stark white hospital room, the smell of disinfectant and stale air made his nose scrunch up. It was then that he noticed the utter discomfort that throbbed throughout his body; the IV in the crease of his right elbow, the tight oxygen mask around his mouth and nose and the pressure in his side that he felt tighten whenever he inhaled. It annoyed Hope more than the constant throb in his brain and he pulled off the oxygen mask as he shifted around in the bed once more – a failed attempt to find some type of comfort.<p>

Of course, comfort never came. If anything, he felt the throbs of discomfort more prominent than before. _Why,_ he thought. _Why couldn't I just stay in that dream with her?_

"I hate hospitals," Hope growled, the sound raspy and weak, and glared at the ceiling with a pout.

"I can see why,"

"What the…" Hope jumped and his eyes snapped to the only entrance into and out of his room. As soon as his gaze connected with Lightning's amused one, a chill ran down his spine and he suppressed a shudder – _when had she walked in?_ She was propped up against the threshold with her arms folded loosely across her chest as though she hadn't been there long, but for some reason, he could not believe that she had just stepped into the room.

"What – why – when did – how did you get here?" Hope stammered as he pressed his back against the bed, the sudden movement made the pressure in his side sting and he winced. Before he could look at what caused him the sudden pain, Lightning had pushed herself away from the threshold and headed over to his bedside. She shifted her weight to the left, and he couldn't help but notice that she was not in the ivory and pearl embroidered dress she wore the day of the Primarch's parade, but instead, she adorned a PSICOM get up - save for the shoulder pauldrons that would show rank - which reminded him of Nabaat.

_Huh, she's not even a part of PSICOM and_ s_he wears it far better than the Lieutenant Colonel ever could._

"What can I say," Lightning began, pulling Hope's attention to her eyes. "The nurses take a liking to me."

"Oh," Hope replied tersely, averting his gaze from her to his hands. The silence that followed was awkward, and uncomfortable, and it didn't help that the air around Lightning seemed charged – almost like her namesake. Strangely enough – no matter how awkward and uncomfortable and electrically charged she made him feel – he did not want to run away in fear of her, in fact, he felt in need of her presence.

_That makes no sense, Estheim, you know you're terrified of her._

Hope shifted in place, only to yelp in surprise when the movement sent a sudden shockwave of pain throughout his body. Lightning had instinctively reached to grab his shoulder, keeping him from making any other sudden motions, but he hardly noticed her attempt.

"The... hell…?" He huffed, immediately throwing the sheets back and finding the source of his pain to be a thin, clear tube that disappeared into his right side – beneath the many layers of bandages that were stained red. "What... is that?"

"Chest tube, your lung collapsed." Lightning answered easily, pulling her gloved hand away from him.

"O-oh," Hope looked up at her, his cheeks flaring red when she sat down on the edge of the bed, and tried desperately to make his voice sound less weak. "I – that was – when I got hit by debris, right?" He asked. Lightning nodded and opened her mouth to explain but it snapped shut as soon as the door suddenly slid open, a collection of voices flooding into the room. In a matter of seconds, the room had gone from nearly empty, to populated with a total of seven bodies.

"…and he said he was going to come by later – Hope!" Maqui had been in the middle of a conversation with Yuj but cut off as soon as they entered the room and laid eyes on the patient. Hope would have laughed at everyone's flabbergasted faces had he not been surprised as well. Then, before Hope could stop her, Lightning quickly stood and left the room – taking her electrically charged atmosphere with her. No one made a sound until the door slammed shut.

After the initial "how are you feeling" and getting caught up with the things he missed during his week long coma, things settled on relatively normal conversations. Somehow, they had gotten off the terrifying topic of Rygdea's sudden shit load of work, to the gloriously wonderful topic of Lightning. When Lebreau casually mentioned that the strawberry headed woman would visit everyday, with Nabaat as her escort, their conversation came to abrupt halt. Their only notification that Hope was alive was the rapid beep of the heart monitor. Snow and Gadot, who were standing by the door silently, had suddenly snorted in unison.

"Is he ok?" Maqui muttered to Yuj who shrugged in response. Lebreau rolled her eyes and pushed by them to snap her fingers in front of Hope's face, successfully bringing him out of his dumbstruck state. The platinum blond spluttered out an incoherent jumble of words and, realizing that nothing intelligent was coming out, he sighed and sank back against the bed – his cheeks burning.

"S-Sorry I just –"

"Find it hard to believe that a gorgeous babe like her would take the time out to visit a puny university student like you?" Gadot interjected, gaining a glare from Lebreau and a weak hearted elbow to the ribs by Snow who was just too busy snickering. Maqui and Yuj looked caught between wanting to glare at Gadot and laugh at his terrible jab.

"Gadot, you're an ugly brute." Hope remarked with a roll of his eyes.

Gadot winced, looking as though he was genuinely insulted, and brought a hand to his heart. "Ouch, Hope, you know that hurts."

Hope chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah whatever, I was going to say that I was just surprised that they let her out of Edenhall."

"Yeah sure," Yuj said with a roll of his eyes, gaining a threatening glare from Hope. He pressed on, a little more seriously, "But who knows? Maybe it was a request from the Primarch?" Yuj suggested.

Hope shrugged but took it into consideration as he speculated his own theory. "Well, that would be a step up to giving her and the other Daughters more freedom."

"Or maybe," Snow began before Yuj could respond. There was a devious tone in the freakishly yellow-blond's voice. "Maybe _she _asked the Primarch to see you _personally. _I mean, even from far away, you could tell your stares did _something _to her. Then again, she _is _the one that didn't hesitate to dive off the float to save you."

"What_ – _you _saw – _I – she – _what_?" Hope stammered, a blush colored his cheeks when the beep of the heart monitor stuttered for a few seconds too long. The sound drew boisterous laughter from Snow and Gadot, Gadot muttering something along the lines of, "the little virgin's got a crush!" hopefully, for Gadot's sake, that's just what Hope heard and not what he really said. Hope didn't catch whatever else was spoken to annoy him because of Lebreau's shouts at them for being "childish and annoying brutes".

Hope appreaciated the defense, but of course, the two brutes continued. Yuj and Maqui couldn't help but join in the laughter that time, making Hope more and more uncomfortable, with the need to hit them all - save Lebreau of course. Yet, despite his urge to assault them over the head with a blunt object, he could not help but allow himself to melt into the laughter and join in on playful banter.

The sting in his side was long forgotten.

Eventually, their unending sounds of laughter and conversation fluttered out into the hall and disturbed a handful of staff members – and possibly patients too – who sent in a nurse to kick them out by politely stating that Hope needed rest. Unable to argue, the group of young adults bid Hope farewell and filed out of the room to allow the nurse to do her job.

After that, everything was just a terrible blur, especially when his father called to say he was too busy to visit.

And when Lightning's visits came to an end.

* * *

><p>Hope awoke a few hours before the sun was expected to peak over the horizon; it was a norm since the reason for his sudden consciousness was always the dull throb of pain in his side. He groaned, for what was probably the thousandth time that night, as he rolled off his stinging side and closed his eyes once more – trying desperately to fall back asleep. It had been a week since the hospital deemed him well enough to return home, and <em>only <em>home. Hope's doctor couldn't _possibly_ stress the importance of him to stay in the house and get a ridiculous amount of rest for a whole month; but he did.

That, of course, did _not _sit well with Hope, but three days into his bedridden 'vacation', and he began to notice how seriously his friends and father had taken his doctor.

Not only had his father gone through the trouble to assign him a temporary bodyguard, but his group of friends had decided to alternate between visits during the day. While Lebreau only visited on fridays, the bar being more of handful now that he wasn't there to help her during the week, the others would stop by for as long as they could before Hope's bodyguard deemed it time for them to leave and for him to rest. No matter how much he argued with the damn officer to stop kicking his friends out, the man still did so anyway – mainly out of spite rather than genuine concern over Hope's health.

He'd figure out some way to get his dad to consider switching out the nameless officer for a different one, or no one for that matter. _Patience, _He told himself. _The right time is all I need. _

He rolled out of bed and went about his early morning activities as though it were any other day. He was in the middle of drying his damp hair before a strange sensation hit him like he had just rubbed a balloon all over his body; the charged atmosphere made the tiny hairs on his skin stand on end. If the unusual static electricity wasn't a dead give away to Lightning's presence in his house, then it was the sudden commotion that started with a muffled _thump_.

Hope quickly pulled on a plain white tee-shirt and grey sweats before he silently crept into the hallway and down the stairs, his ears gradually picking up the hushed whispers of more than one person.

_Did she come with someone? Wait, how did she even get here?_ The thoughts made his heart quicken as he began to consider the possibility that his accusations were wrong – and that he was crazy to think it could be Lightning, someone in custody by the Sanctum. The heavily armed and secured Sanctum.

_Shit, I'm so stupid! _He stood at the bottom of the stairs, frozen as he peered through the darkness to the silhouettes of three figures. One of them slumped to the floor – which he guessed was the bodyguard – and the other two shifted before one quickly made their way over to him.

"Another one? I thought you said there was only one!" The closer person hissed as they advanced on Hope. Hope's head reeled – unable to stop and register that the voice sounded familiar – and he turned on his heels to dart back up the stairs. He made it as far as two stairs before a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt – him fighting and flailing the entire time – and pulled him back towards them.

"Hey, wait, that's –" The second voice was cut off by Hope who continued to demand release as he thrashed against the hard grip around his shirt.

"I said let go!" Hope bellowed just as one of his flailing hands finally struck soft skin with a loud _slap, _the connection of their skin sent a strange bolt of electricity to tingle through his fingers and down his arm. There was a strangled hiss and he was suddenly released from the person's hold. The lights flicked on and Hope shut his eyes for a brief second before he opened them once more. The white faded and his eyes focused on Maqui first, who was across the room with his fingers on the light switch, before his gaze travelled to the person directly in front of him.

"L-Lighting?" Hope gasped; his heart stuttered and flew into his throat. Then it plummeted to his stomach when he realized that she had a hand pressed to her cheek. He could barely make out the pink that was slowly turning red beneath her pale fingertips. Part of him prayed that she was merciful in vengeance, while the other stumbled over apologies and prepared him to grovel. "Oh man, I'm so sorry! I thought –"

"It's fine." She interjected through gritted teeth and dropped her hand. Hope frowned and looked away; he could feel himself slowly sinking into a pool of guilt and regret – and possibly his grave.

"Hey Hope," Maqui said, breaking the awkward silence that weighed the air down just as much as the static had. "Got any coffee and food? I'm starving and I won't be able to go back sleep after such an _eventful _morning."

* * *

><p>Hope stared at the bowl of pancake batter dubiously as he whisked at it, vaguely aware of Lightning's intense stare. "So, wait, let me get this straight," He paused to replay Maqui's words in his head and try to make sense of them. It was harder than he thought, especially with Lightning playing mute for the time being. He had to think of a plan to break through to her, and get her to talk… that's <em>if<em> she doesn't melt him with her signature death glares.

"You're saying she possessed you?" Hope turned to look at Maqui with a raised brow.

"Ugh, yes, Hope! I don't know the mechanics of all her _magic mumbo jumbo –_ but one second I was talking to Yuj about seeing you on my day off from the shop tomorrow and the next," The blond threw his arms up, flailed them for a fraction of a second, and pointed an accusing finger at Lightning. "_She_ comes out of nowhere, touches Yuj's shoulder and he blacks out, then I'm hearing her voice in my head telling me what to do and – and I just do what she _says_! By the way, you could've just asked for what you wanted."

"That would have required me to explain myself and I did _not _want you to say no." Lightning said as she rolled her eyes, giving a careless shrug.

"Well, with that stunt you pulled on Yuj I'm sure you would've gotten me to say yes one way or another." Maqui retorted under his breath.

"Anyway," Lightning growled, her tone hinting to the patience that ran on fumes, and she folded her arms across her chest tightly and pressed clenched fists against her sides. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible." She fixed Hope with a hard gaze, causing the platinum blonde to swallow a lump. "Will you help me?"

For a few moments, Hope stared at her incredulously. While part of him wanted to say yes with no second thoughts, another part of him – a notably bigger part – squashed the urge. "I'd like to know _who_ and _what _you are first," He demanded, not catching her glare as he turned back to whisking the batter. "And why do you need my help?"

"I'm sure you _know why,_" Lightning began, stretching her last words as though they were keywords to vital information. Hope imagined that she had stretched her terribly short patience level with them, but he wondered how long that would last before she snapped.

_That's one thing that should be left unknown._

"Even if I do know, I'd like to know from you and what you plan to do exactly." Hope answered calmly, surprised at how steady his voice was as opposed to the unnerving nervousness that seemed to pulse in his veins. Although it did little to help his anxiety, Hope kept his gaze fixated on the task at hand; slowly dicing strawberries and dropping them into the batter. However, the task did help him keep his scrambled thoughts somewhat stable, intelligible for him to convert into words.

The lack of response form Lightning made the silence seem deafening, and as soon as he was done dicing the last strawberry, he dropped the knife to the cutting board and turned to face the woman. He gazed at her as she stared down at the coffee mug in her hands, her fingers rigid against the ceramic, and the wispy tendrils of her hair obscured her expression. The silence continued to stretch and Hope briefly glanced at Maqui, exchanging a look of confusion and curiosity with him, before his gaze turned back to the woman.

Then, Lightning shifted, pushing the coffee mug away from her, and looked up with a hard look of determination.

"I want complete freedom from the Sanctum, they took everything from me – from _us_ – and I want more than ever to have a life away from the confines of Edenhall; I want it for _all _of us." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as her gaze locked with Hope's, and he could see the ghost of sadness and anger behind cracked walls of defense. "And I know your father wants it, I've heard it – when he talks to Nabaat about the others and I. You can influence your father more than anyone else can and when it comes to rest of the Sanctum, like Nabaat, your argument will be taken into consideration more than mine ever will."

Hope let out a soft, shaky breath, one that he held in the entire time Lightning spoke. He looked to Maqui for some sort of encouragement but the young man looked just as taken aback and at a loss for words as he was. Unable to answer – or face – her, Hope turned away and quickly went to the mindless task of pouring the strawberry batter onto the heated griddle to make perfectly round pancakes. He could practically feel Lightning's eyes boring into the back of his head, quite literally too. He could feel it, her strange presence trying to force its way into his mind, and pick out the answer she needed for herself. He didn't allow it and somehow - he wasn't quite sure _how_ - he was easily pushing away her probing magic.

Hope knew when it registered, her failure to take over his mind, when the kitchen chair collided with the linoleum floor and the air had suddenly stung his skin – like the prickling sensation when blood returns to a limb that fell asleep. Hope sighed as he flipped the pancakes over one by one, desperately trying to push away the fear and nervousness of letting her down (he didn't like promising things he wasn't even sure about) so that he could answer her.

"I-I'll help you," Hope said, his voice barely above a whispered but he knew she heard him. "But you should know; it could take months."

"I know that," Lightning replied calmly, but he could hear the hint of relief in her voice. "Probably even years, so many people will be against it but… It'll work."

In the midst of her words Lightning had made her way over to him and Hope glanced at her, not quite prepared for the intensity behind sapphires. There was determination and – despite the skepticism that hardened her expression – trust. It seemed that in that moment, their partnership was sealed, whether they knew it or not.

He had to admit, he admired her determination and confidence. She knew the chances of being free from the Sanctum were slim, very slim, but she did not come off as the type to be deterred in her attempt at going to the ends of the universe - just to reach her goal.

Maqui cleared his throat to make his presence known and Lightning was the first to break their eye contact, going back to the table and picking up the overturned chair. Hope's eyes followed her, lingering a bit too long, before they went to Maqui who grinned at him knowingly, eyebrows somehow managing to wiggle.

Hope knew that look, that all-knowing, perverted look that took his staring the wrong way - _completely. _Hope's cheeks burned and he made an awkward sound at the back of his throat –_ I was _not_ checking her out you ass! _– before he immediately turned back to the slightly overcooked pancakes.

* * *

><p>Breakfast had gone by terribly slow; a whole torturous hour.<p>

It started off rather fine though.

Hope had given Maqui the overcooked pancakes – the blond swore vengeance – while he and Lightning ate perfectly cooked ones. Lightning's first bite, however, had her cring at the tangy sweetness of the strawberries and she glared down at the fruit in her pancakes. Hope's heart sank – _I should've asked what she liked! –_ and he immediately stumbled over an apology.

"I'm sorry, I-I should've asked if," His words caught in his throat when Lightning shook her head, shoving a forkful of pancake slices into her mouth. He blinked, thoroughly confused, and looked at Maqui who merely shrugged. The platinum blond looked back to Lighting as she took a sip of orange juice, a strange look overcame her, and he found that he couldn't decipher a thing.

"Food at Edenhall isn't like this." Lightning said softly.

"Really," Maqui asked, his mouth full of pancakes. He swallowed his food before continuing; "I pictured it to be all fancy and whatnot."

Lightning snorted, took another sip of orange juice, and shook her head. "No, it's hardly fancy but it's not prison food either. We're fed what we need."

"When was the last time you had homemade food?" Hope asked but immediately regretted it when the woman's lips tugged down. She shrugged, dropping her eyes to her plate, and continued eating.

_I guess I struck a cord? I... shouldn't have said that..._

Hope wanted to disappear into the floor.

And so the remainder of the hour went by slow, too slow for either of the three to take, but no one dared to disturb the silence. The only sound of life in the house were the sounds of forks scraping against plates and the soft clinks of glass hitting a wooden table.

Lightning spoke only to thank Hope for breakfast and offer to help clean up. When he declined, stating that she was a guest, she merely nodded and headed for the living room. The woman was silent for the rest of the morning, lost in whatever occupied her mind and clouded her eyes.

And Hope continued to wallow in his guilt.

* * *

><p>"Hey Hope," Maqui called as he entered the kitchen. Said man looked over to his friend as he dried off the final dish. "Um – that bodyguard of yours – did you lock him away in the basement or something? He's been quiet all throughout breakfast and Lightning said she hadn't seen him since she knocked him out."<p>

"No, I didn't…" Hope trailed off, his fingers tightening over the plate, as his mind was suddenly reeling with all sorts of possibilities to where the officer could have gone.

"Oh… No… No, no, _no…_" He rushed out of the kitchen, the sound of broken ceramic was never heard, and skidded to a halt as the doorbell rang in his ears.

Lightning was beside him in seconds, hissing words that he didn't hear over rushing blood and a pounding heart. The bell continued to ring and Hope reluctantly went over to the door, Lightning stopped him, her fingers around his wrist.

"Hope, don't! What if it's-" Her words were cut off by the sudden sound of a knock. Hope's finger froze on the button that would open the door, the knocking stung the silence and his ears, and he pressed the button.

_Please be Lebreau… or Snow… or Gadot… please don't be PSICOM… please don't be PSICOM… please –_

The door slid open and Hope's heart disappeared and his throat tightened as the foyer was suddenly crowded with PSICOM sentries. Hope's arms were forced behind him and he looked over to see Lightning and Maqui struggling against the officers that grabbed them. Lightning looked at Hope with a glare and he shook his head as he was pushed out of the house. He didn't doubt that she could easily overpower the PSICOM grunts, and he was quite tempted to step out of her way and let her take them down, but he knew it would only worsen their situation.

"Hope Estheim," The commanding officer began as Hope and the others were lined up in front of him. "You are under arrest for aggravated assault against a PSICOM officer and the abduction of Sanctum property." The officer's eyes flickered to Lightning who growled, muttering something along the lines of 'belonging to no one', under her breath.

Hope was stunned into silence while Maqui tried to argue their innocence - only to be silenced by the butt of a gun to the back of his head.

_Great, first the float accident and now this, _Hope sighed mentally.


End file.
